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ANXIETY, anger, and despair. The feelings of over 100 farmers across the Vale of Clwyd who turned out in force to vent their frustration at a public meeting on Tuesday evening.

The Ruthin event, organised by NFU Cymru Clwyd, provided a platform for farmers to express their fears and frustrations regarding movement restrictions and the loss of export markets due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

Speaking at the meeting, union president Dai Davies urged the government to take responsibility and deal with the situation effectively.

He said: “This is a disastrous scenario, none of which is of our making and clearly the government got us into this mess and they have the sole responsibility to get us out of it.

“The economic pressures grow daily and as we move into the autumn welfare problems are increasingly coming to the fore on many farms.

“The situation is absolutely desperate and we have a backlog of stock that should have been marketed in August and September.”

Restrictions imposed following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth eased yesterday (Thursday), with transport of cattle, sheep and goats to market now permitted.

Meat and meat product exports to Europe can resume from next Friday, October 12, provided there are no further outbreaks outside a 200km area around the surveillance zone in Surrey.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases of bluetongue disease has risen to 24, it was confirmed this week.

All of the cases are within the existing control zone in East Anglia, a Defra spokeswoman confirmed.

NFU Cymru county chairman, Ken Bellis said: “The combination of foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue has shaken the livestock industry to its foundations. Government must not only accept that it is responsible for this mess, but it must also act to ease the situation.

“The Assembly must react quickly and positively to NFU Cymru’s call for them to consider every avenue to support the industry in Wales, not least the introduction of a welfare disposal scheme for animals with no market outlet, an early delivery of Single Farm Payments, a payment to all affected livestock farmers, a supplement to Tir Mynydd payments and a scheme to encourage public procurement of lamb that cannot at present be exported.”